A powerful earthquake in Morocco has killed more than 600 people and injured hundreds more, destroying buildings and sending residents of major cities rushing from their homes in the country's deadliest tremor since at least 2004.

The magnitude 7.2 quake struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains late on Friday night. A local official said most deaths were in mountain areas that were hard to reach. State media said 632 people had been killed and another 329 injured, citing an updated initial toll from the Interior Ministry.

The quake damaged buildings in Marrakech, the nearest big city to the epicentre, where residents spent the night in the open, afraid to go home.

A mosque minaret had fallen in Jemaa al-Fna Square, the heart of Marrakech’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.